Man’s fear after attack over sex in bathroom

A MAN assaulted with a dumb-bell after being caught in a drug and booze-fuelled romp in his next-door neighbour’s bathroom said is he is living “in fear” after his attacker avoided jail.

Murray Scott, 39, said he was afraid and angry after his neighbour Paul Wales, 47, a schizophrenic, was given a community payback order despite inflicting head injuries so severe they had to be closed with 13 staples.

Murray Scott

The painter-decorator said he had not worked regularly since the assault as he cannot climb a ladder without suffering dizziness.

He said: “The guy should be in jail or mental hospital. He said he was going to kill me.”

However, Wales rubbished Mr Scott’s version of events and said the assault was an act of self defence after he discovered him and a woman having sex in his bathroom.

Mr Scott, of Lanark Road West in Currie, said the assault happened out of the blue after he was invited into Wales’ council home for a beer.

He said a woman who was drinking with them went off to use Wales’s bathroom and pulled an emergency alarm chord by accident, sending Wales into a rage.

“He just went off his head, effing and blinding at her,” said Scott.

“She went out the toilet crying, and I said to him there was no need to speak to a woman like that. Then he just picked up a dumb-bell and he hit me three times with it.

“He said he was going to kill me. He’s a big guy and when he hit me he had this look in his eyes and I am scared of that.

“It was just rage – pure rage. He was looking right through me.”

Wales admitted carrying out the assault but said it was self-defence after he confronted Mr Scott – who he claimed was high on cocaine and cannabis – over an impromptu sex session in his bathroom.

Wales said: “The woman we were with went to the toilet and shouted him [Mr Scott] in to join her. And then they were trying to have sex in the toilet. The alarm chord was pulled and I went in, found them, and said to him, get out of my house.

“He punched me in the face and whacked me in the eye. And then he hit me in the head with something metal.

“I hit him on the arm with the metal bar of one of my weights and hit his head at the same time because he was using his arms to shield his head.

“When I realised he was bleeding from the head, I stopped.”

Earlier this month, Wales, who pleaded guilty to a charge of serious assault, was handed a 12-month community payback order at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

Wales called the episode “stupid” and said: “I don’t have anything against the guy. We had a falling out, and I admit I should never have picked that bar up.”

However, the sentence was slammed by Mr Scott, who said Wales was a danger to others and should be moved from his council house.

“What if he kills me? He could have killed me the last time,” he said.

“He got community payback and a year’s probation. It’s nothing compared to the crime.”

Mr Scott also revealed he had complained to the procurator fiscal’s office over lack of information provided to him about the progress of the case.

Crown Office officials rejected the claims.

A spokesman said: “Mr Scott has been in regular contact with our victim information and advice service throughout the proceedings and has been updated by letter at each stage of the case.”

It is understood there were never plans to move Wales from his home after the attack and that social support programmes are in place for him.

A council spokesman said: “We do not discuss individual cases.

“We take tenants’ concerns seriously, and anyone who has issues regarding the behaviour of their neighbours should contact the local neighbourhood office for advice and support.”